I Dare You
by MsZola
Summary: "I dare you to kiss me" when an innocent game starts to drift off into an area Jess isn't so comfortable in. But what scares her the most, is that she has never passed on a dare. Follow me on Twitter @mszolafanfic
1. Where It all Starts

**Since my other Fanfic 'Two Words' was such a success, I've decided to start a Jess and Nick one. Hope you guys enjoy, please continue to support me!**

Chapter 1

We had been left alone for one week as everyone else has gone camping and thought it would be a good idea to leave Nick and I alone...together. Jess was unconsciously biting her nails as she curled up in the corner of their sofa.

It had barely been an hour and Jess found herself avoiding Nick, at this very moment she hated Cece, she knew exactly how she felt about Nick but still persisted that she stayed with him. With his busy schedule as a bartender it was hard for him to close the bar for one week and it was hardly fair or reasonable.

The fading sun light made her finally realise her nervous biting, she stopped, focusing her eyes to the rattling coming from the front door

"Jess? You there? I've locked myself out...Jess?" she froze as she stared at the door. This was ridiculous, it would be fine, nothing was gonna happen, it was Nick

"I'm coming" shouted Jess as she forced her frozen body to move from her spot. Making her way over, her hands clasped the door handle as she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath and with a smile she opened it

"Hey Nick, nice seeing you here" her smiled looked forced, and she knew Nick could sense her awkwardness

"Yeah, Hi Jess. Last time I checked I lived here?" with a frowned he scanned her all too perky face before continuing "you going to let me in?"

"No, I mean yes, I mean..."

"Was that a yes or no?" his puzzled face, made her blush as she slowly moved out the doorway, letting him past

"Why thank you, Miss Day" he had only left to drop his friends off at their newly hired caravan but he had to admit it was pretty nice, cosy and all, deep down he wanted to go but he knew he couldn't. As he made his way towards the kitchen, his eyes dawned to the bottle of Vodka laid temptingly on the table. His eyes widened

"Jess?"

"mmhm"

"Feel like a little game?" he watched as her face was now facing his as her brow started to furrow

"What kind of _game_?" His smile grew spreading across his face as he grabbed the Vodka, motioning to it in anticipation as he walked slowly towards her worried expression.

©Ms Zola, May 2012


	2. Fun?

**These Chapters are quite short, so I may just do one more before finishing it, depends how much time I have, but thanks for all the alerts I've received so far. You're all amazing!**

**Chapter 2**

It felt like the whole world was in slow motion. The bright light outside had dimed and it was literally just him and her. Jess was dreading what he had in mind; the sly glint in his eye suggested that it wasn't an innocent 'hide and seek' game. She sat crossed legged on the floor opposite him, as she watched him pour equal portions of shots

"So..." she paused, as she tucked her a strand of hair behind her ear "what we doing?" quizzed Jess as her scanned his carefully lined the glasses in the row in front of her

"We are going to play a little _game_" His emphasise on game made her shiver, why was she so jumpy? He didn't look up from his OCD like notions, straightening the glasses in a line. Nick's vague expression was scaring her. She knew for a fact that drinking games never ended well, and she doubted that this was going to be any different.

She knew she wouldn't like the answer to her next question but she forced herself to ask him

"What game?"

"Thinking a little bit of I have never/ truth or dare" he winked as his smile widened. Jess stared at him, attempting to avoid the temptation to open her mouth in shock. _True or dare...I have never_ she gulped before shaking her head, it's just a bit of fun, just a bit of fun. Just a little bit of fun?

Her reassuring thoughts were starting to become doubtful

"So how exactly are we doing this?"

"Well...we're going to do I have never, and if you haven't done it, you take a shot and then pick between a truth or dare" he smiled, as his eyes finally met hers "Fun right?"

"Yeah, fun" mumbled Jess, she could think of several fun things and this definitely not one of them. She had played drinking games with Nick before, but it had always been with a group of people, never had she played alone. There was something about this situation that was different

"I'll start...I have never...kissed a guy" Jess rolled her eyes, he had to pick the easy ones, that's no fun, she smiled as she threw back a shot, what was she on about? Why did she want it to be harder, she frowned before continuing to listen to Nick "Okay, truth or dare?"

"Truth" within seconds of her answering Nick continued with his question

"Do you like anyone at the moment?" her eyes squinted, so it was gonna be _that _kind of game, she wanted so much to lie but it was her policy to be truthful, so here goes

"Yes"

"Oh really, who?"

"I've had my turn, yours now" she noticed how his face seemed to drop a little, but she wasn't sure if it was the lighting or just her imagination

"I have never...dated Caroline" said Jess as she smiled. Nick nodded and took his drink "Truth or dare"

"Truth" predictable, Jess thought, as she racked her brains for a decent truth to ask him. There were so many things that were flying in and out of her head, whether they were appropriate or not was a different story. There was one question that had been bugging her for weeks now, but there was never the right moment to ask it, maybe this was the right time

"Have you ever liked me?" there was silence, as Jess continued to watch his expression, it changed from smiles to more of a serious thinking face. The anticipation to figure out what his answer was, was giving her butterflies

"Maybe"

"You can't say _maybe_, it's yes or no Nick, pick one"

"Okay, Yes" She was a little bit taken a back, _Nick liked her? _Of course it was flattering, but she liked him too, or still did like him. Jess sighed, why do people never like each other at the same time?

"Back to you, erm...I have never...randomly burst out into song" Jess started to laughing, before taking her second shot. If she was being honest the whole truth thing was getting boring and frankly she didn't want her next question to be an awkward one. Nick waited for her to finish completely before continuing "Truth or dare?"

"Dare" his eyes widened slightly, which made her stomach flutter, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Nick deep in thought, as though he was resisting saying something. Before long, his eyes moved from searching the floor to her face. She watched as his eyes looked at her, his mouth opened and he replied

"I dare you to kiss me"

This definitely was a bad idea.

_© Ms Zola, May 2012_


	3. It Wasn't Me

**Luckily for you guys, I have half term coming up soon and exams over, so I shall be able to update almost every day...hopefully. Thank you for all the support I've had so far, I didn't expect to get such a response so quickly. Anyways, here's chapter 3.**

**Chapter 3**

"Excuse me?" she stared opened mouthed at this lunatic in front of her, _kiss him_, he was joking right? Yeah, she liked him but there was no way she was ready to kiss him, she had barely got the courage to admit that she liked him.

"You heard me, I dare you to kiss me" at this very moment in time, the room seemed a lot darker, and Jess swore his face was getting closer to hers. She gulped as her eyes focused on the left over shot in front of her. Lifting the glasses, she drank it in one go and started to edge forward. There was a part of her that was saying 'go for it, you like him' but another part urging her to 'stop'.

What was she thinking? She was definitely going to regret this but she couldn't back out. Jess Day would _never _back out of a dare

"My lips are waiting" she cringed as she watched Nick's eye close and his lips pucker. She copied his actions as she shuffled in. Did he have to be so cheesy? The actually moment itself was not easy for her and he was really not helping.

"Okay...here goes" she took in a deep breath "getting closer" she felt the need to narrate her actions, to mainly help Nick prepare and to help herself prepare. Their heads started to gradually get closer; she could almost feel his breath on her face. Before long she hit something, was that his lips? The loud _Ouch _that followed told her otherwise

"Jess, you just head butted me" finally feeling the pain, she started rubbing her head and automatically reached out to rub his too.

They were pretty much best friends and she was used to doing things like that, but it was because they were best friends she was reluctant to say or doing anything about her feelings

"Sorry" she said, as she moved back slightly "Should I try again?" however hard it was for her, she was determined not to give up. A dare's a dare, and no matter what she would do it. A small flicker of light reflected off Nick as his head nodded, and Jess followed her instincts.

Obviously not learning her lesson, she leant in again, still with her eyes closed.

Her lips finally met him and she seemed to be getting into it, she felt her lips moulding to his skin. This wasn't so bad, it was fine; he was barely moving. Actually, his lips were different to how she had imagined, stiffer than she thought too.

"Jess?"

"Mhmm" she mumbled between kissing lips

"That's my cheek" abruptly her kissing stopped. She could hit herself, she was making out with his cheek? She was definitely out of practise with the whole _kissing_ thing.  
How embarrassing. She had to admit it... she was never going to complete this dare. As she began to move away, his voice stopped her

"These are my lips" he smiled slowly, pulling her face with his fingers, drawing her towards him.

Their lips met.

Jess could almost imagine the fireworks bursting in the background, the violinists playing her favourite song, the moment couldn't have been any better. Before she could get over the shock and embrace the moment, he pulls away

"erm, it's getting late, I have to go" Nick was stunned as he stumbled to his feet and began to walk away, running his hand through his hair. She could still feel where his lips had lingered on hers.

Jess remained seated, watching as he walked off into the distance and reality struck. Things just got awkward.

_© Ms Zola, May 2012_


	4. Only Time will Tell

**This one is a little longer, maybe a bit random! Not sure how I'm going to play this out, any ideas please tell me! Thanks again for all those alerts and reviews, really appreciate every one!**

**Chapter 4**

"What just happened?" mumbled Nick as he lay on his bed, facing the ceiling. He could almost swear he could feel Jess's eyes glaring at his back. Him and his stupid dare. He pulled his hands to his face and rubbed his temples. Okay, it was supposed to be innocent; it was dare nothing awkward about that. Then she kept being cute and messing up, he just wanted to kiss her but why?

Nick questioned himself, he never experienced feelings for Jess before, maybe at first but it was different now they were closer, it was more...intimate. To make matters worse, he just got up and left? Why was he thinking? Sometimes, he wished someone would tell him the right thing to do, because clearly he was incapable of doing it himself. Although, was he overreacting, it was just a kiss for a dare, it wasn't even a real one...was it? It didn't mean anything, not to her anyways.

Nick was unsure how he felt about the whole situation, he lay twiddling his thumbs scanning through all the possible reasons in his head. There had to be an answer, he had to know how she felt about him. Without further notice, he moved out his bed and clasped the door handle, before knocking on Jess's door.

It seemed like hours since their kiss but Jess was still thinking about it. She knew that there was no way that Nick liked her; he clearly just kissed her out of sympathy. It was a dare. It meant nothing to him. He walked away; he was clearly embarrassed for her. She felt so stupid, why did she always have to mess up. Then she remembered, wait he kissed her first? What did that mean?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking. Through the small gap under her door, she could see a faint shadow. Who was? A robber? A murderer? She could feel her body start to quake. With slow movements, she managed to clamber out of her bed and make her way to the mysterious visitor.

"W-w-ho is it?"

"Nick" it had never reached her mind that it would be him, not after what happened.

"Oh, what do you want?" she said hovering behind the door

"Can we talk?"

"Erm..."

"Jess"

"Okay, Okay" she turned the door handle as slowly as she could before getting shouted at to hurry up. He was standing there in his blue pyjamas; it made her smile to see how cute he looked in his little matching outfit. It was silence for a while as they both just stared at each other. Was there a purpose to this visit? She thought as her eye began look anywhere apart from his eyes

"Can I ask you a question?" said Nick as he started bite his bottom lip

"No, but I know you will say it anyways"

"Do you like me?" the question startled her as she was now watching his expression. Was he being serious?

"Erm..."

"Well?"

"I don't know"

"Is that a yes or no?"

"No...Well yes...well I don't know!" there was clear frustration in her eyes and Nick knew it

"Let's say, If I asked you out, what would you say?" she was frozen, damn he was on to her

"Erm, yes maybe?" there was silence, then she continued "It's not like you like me anyways" again, the silence continued

"Do you?"

"I could do"

"Oh" there was nothing left to say, what was said was said. What do they do now?

The glint in their eyes told them otherwise. Before long, Nick's lips were crashing upon hers, pushing her through the darkness over bundles of clothes. The heat between them was intense. There were no words, but actions definitely spoke louder than words. Their bodies tensed up together and relaxed in unison, it was as though they were one.

And for a split second, Jess almost felt as though the world had stopped turning and it was just him and her.

"How was that for you?" questioned Jess as she rolled onto her side, their moment of passion made her realise maybe they were meant to be

"It was great" smiled Nick as his head turned to face hers "I think we can clearly say we're friends with benefits" he laughed, making the air seem a lot less awkward.

"What we going to do now?"

"We still have a week" said Jess as she smiled through the darkness; he stroked her face gently as he began to think

"A whole week. I think I could find something to do" he smirked seductively as he moved closer

"No Nick, we really can't do this. It's not right"

"Hmm" trust Jess and her morals, he thought before he continued "Okay, Jess...Will you go out with me?" she thought for a moment before coming to the obvious conclusion

"No" she watched as his face dropped "I'm joking, Yes Of course!" he started laughing as he began tickling her stomach

"Cheeky" they both smiled, as she laid her head on his shoulder, embracing the perfect moment for that one night.

_© Ms Zola, May 2012_


	5. Too Many Questions

**I know you're all going to hate me for this chapter, but I couldn't think how to continue it so I just left it there. Sorry, I will update as soon as I can! Thanks again for all the support I've been getting (:**

**Chapter 5**

**[3 days later]**

"Morning Gorgeous" Jess's eyes fluttered as she was awaken by a half naked man holding a tray full of food. She rubs her eye lid slowly as she focuses on the tray, pancakes, orange juice, strawberries and a little daffodil to finish it off.

"Morning" she smiled, finally sitting herself up, it felt like months since their first _encounter _and now they had been living everyday like a married couple. They went everywhere together, held hands in public and definitely made sure that everyone knew they were a couple. Everyone except their friends of course, who were still on their camping trip, little did they know what was going on back home

"I made you breakfast" said Nick as he laid the tray gently on her lap, as he sat stroking her hand over the duvet

"Yeah I can see that" it wasn't that she didn't like Nick, can she definitely did, but over the last few days, Jess found him a little bit clingy. It was nice at first, but now it was getting old. He was sweet, but a girl needed her space.

"Do you want me to feed you!" his eyes widened as she just stared back in confusion

"You want to what?"

"Feed you, It'll be fun"

"For you maybe" she mumbled under her breath, she was probably going to regret this later, but she became nice Jess and sat there with her mouth open waiting for the _little toot toot train to come. _She literally felt about five. Nick needed a baby not a girlfriend.

"All finished" laughed Nick as he began to reach over to wipe her mouth "and here's your reward" he reached up and gave her a kiss before bringing the tray to the kitchen. She looked around the door before grabbing her clothes and shooting into the bathroom; locking the door behind her. The coolness of the door seeped through her oversized pyjama top and she sunk down the door, embracing the little bit of freedom she had before...

"Jess...Are you in there?" before Nick happened

"Yeah"

"Can I come in?"

"Why?"

"So we can brush our teeth together, like we do most mornings" she sighed, that was another thing, every morning, like clockwork, they would get up and stand next to each other brushing their teeth together. Since when did Nick turn into this lovey dovey person. He had always been the calm cool one, well he appeared to be but then again Jess had never dated him before, maybe that was why Caroline dumped him. It all started to make sense now.

"Erm...well I'm in the shower" she instantly ran to turn on the shower, as she could hear the gush of water stream out the head piece. Nick started to turn the door handle but with no success

"Since when do you lock the door? Jess I've seen _everything_, no need to hide from me" if only that was the problem. Pacing up and down the bathroom she tried to master up some lie to get him to leave.

"I'm...I'm...on my period!" she mustered out as her eyes squinted, Really Jess? She thought to herself, as she began silently hitting her head against the wall.

"Oh...I'll leave you to it then" He's gone? HE'S GONE! She felt like shouting out, in the three days they had officially been together this was the first time, she was alone. Why didn't she think of the period thing earlier? With a sigh of relief she started to get inside the shower. She was going to make the most of this, even if she was in the bathroom for hours, she was in a Nick free zone.

Jess never thought she'd say this but she was glad to be finally away from him.

Nick slumped down in the living room, thinking about what just happened. Jess had been acting weird recently around him and he couldn't think why. Did she not like him anymore, because he sure as hell liked her. It was weird though, he hadn't been in a relationship for quite some time since Caroline and it would seem that he was out of practise.

At the beginning, they were really close, she was nice and they did everything together but as the days grew on, she became more distant, she didn't want to be with him anymore and it was upsetting him. The more she wanted to be alone, the more he wanted to be with her, to make him feel like they were still close. Fair enough, it had only been like three days and you can't base a relationship on that, but was he doing something wrong?

He sat silently with his head rested on the pillow behind him; he could almost hear Jess singing in the bathroom. What was wrong? He focused her ears to the stopping of water and the silent door creaking as it opened

"Jess?" there was no replied "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine!"

"Should I –"

"NO!" he was broken midsentence by her shriek "I mean don't come in, I'm doing lady things" Nick heard the door shut again, and he found himself alone once more. It was so strange, he needed to confront her once and for all, this wasn't right. He wasn't going to be treated this way with no explanation. Forcing himself off the couch, he marched over to her door, put his straightest most serious expression on and loudly knocked twice.

"...yes"

"I demand you let me in"

"You demand?" he could hear edge in her voice, maybe he was ready for confrontation, she sounded angry

"Jess...please just let me in, I need to ask you something"

There was something in his voice that made her nervous, what did he want? Surely, he didn't know she was lying, did she? After throwing the last remaining piece of clothing, she opened the door

"What do you want to ask me?" her head lolled against the door frame as she searches his eyes for some clue

"I want an explanation"

"For what?" she started to panic, he knew, I bet he knew all along, she thought. This wasn't going to end well was it

"You know exactly what" Jess could feel the beads of sweat rolling down her face, she can't cope with this kind of pressure and before anyone could stop her she, blurted out

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to lie, I'm not really on my period, I promise"

"I knew something was...wait, what?"

"I lied...I just didn't want you to come in the bathroom, I'm sorry" it wasn't what he expected, if he was being honest, that didn't even cross his mind. She lied about her period...okay?

"Will you ever forgive me?"

"Erm...yeah sure but I also wanted to ask you something else"

"What?" with the guilt off her shoulders, she wasn't prepared for what he had to say next

"Why have you been acting weirdly around me lately? You don't want to do anything together anymore, it's like you're..." he couldn't finish his late word; he wouldn't admit that maybe this was mistake, and she clearly didn't like him.

She had to be serious now, she couldn't just avoid his question

"Because, recently we've been together _too_ much and well I like having my own space. Don't get me wrong, being with you is amazing, more than I could have ever imagined, it's just I didn't expect to be with you this much" she could see the hurt in his eyes, how could she just stand there and say these things to him. She did still like him.

"So what do you want me to do? Tone it down? I'll do anything for you" Jess knew that he meant it, but was it enough. Actions spoke louder than words, did she have the heart to tell him no. The biggest question was, should she listen to her heart or her head.

_© Ms Zola, May 2012_


	6. Panic

**I felt sort of bad for leaving Chapter 5 like I do, so I typed majorly fast and brought to you...Chapter 6**

**Chapter 6**

The silence between them was too painful. She was still faced with unresolved questions and frankly, it was too much for a girl to take. The look in his eyes was enough to send her mental and she couldn't just turn him down, not that she wanted to. But after the last three days, there was that doubt in her mind, was he always going to be like this?

She knew it was nerves, it had to be, he was still dealing with his break up with Caroline, she had ripped away his self esteem and now he thought that she was going to get up and leave him. It was a perfectly logically explanation, she thought to herself. She had to give the bloke a chance, he said he'll try and change, and she believed him.

"Okay, just give me my space. That's all I'm asking" she gave a sweet understanding smile, as he leaned in to hug her

"I'll do my best"

"Now, I'm going to get some groceries, we're out of milk...again" said Jess as she budged past him. She could see he was about to offer to come with her, she put a her hand up and continued "space Nick", he nodded before going his own way.

This is nice, yes...I could get used to this, thought Jess as she steadily paced up and down the aisles. A Nick free zone once again, she didn't even have to lie this time. If it was like this for the whole of the relationship, it could work out. He was sweet, majorly sweet and he cared for her, what more could a girl want. He was a keeper. She had no idea why Caroline dumped him, she must have been crazy, well it's her lost, as now he was hers and nothing could...

"Caroline?" she shrieked, as a familiar face was now standing in front of her "What a surprise! What are you doing here?" she tried, unsuccessfully to keep her voice normal, but by the expression on Caroline's face, she wasn't fooled.

"I'm shopping...for food like most people, tend to do at the supermarket" she gave a subtle smile trying to hide her bemused thoughts

"Oh, but you don't live around here?"

"I erm...wanted a change" she sighed "you know, got bored of my local supermarket"

"I see..."

"Oh, right, you caught me. I thought I'd see Nick here" Jess stared at this bubbly blonde, what was she going on about? She never "caught her" unless

"Do you still have feelings for Nick then?" Caroline blurted out a hysterical laugh

"NO! Of course not don't be silly, been there done that, that's my motto" the awkwardness between them told Jess otherwise.

"Right, okay, well it was nice seeing you"

"Yes you too" Jess rolled her eyes as she began to walk in the opposite direction, well that was fun, she thought to herself. So Caroline still has feelings for Nick...What did that mean for them? Would Nick choose Caroline over her? Now new thoughts were buzzing in and out of her mind. She had to get back there, before Caroline could. Grabbing everything she needed she was out of that store in a blink of an eye.

Is it normal to feel this way about someone? Nick pondered quietly to himself as he began to get ready. He still has a towel wrapped around his waist and was potting around his bedroom. He's been avoiding the temptation to call Jess for minutes now, he needed to know she was okay and not dying in a gutter somewhere. The thought sent shivers down his spine.

_Space_ he kept repeating the word in his head, he has to give her space, that is what she wants and that is what he is going to give her. It had been over an hour and so far he had not called her. Nick was pleased, this was good; he was learning to give people space. Nodding happily to himself, he continued pulling the blankets back over his bed.

"Nick...NICK!" Jess's voice echoed through the apartment, it sounded like she just discovered a spider that she wanted him to get rid of

"What?" leaping to her _rescue_, he ran out of the room, holding his towel in place.

"Oh thank god" she smiled, rushing towards him and embracing him in a hug

"Nice to see you too?" said Nick as he wrapped his arms around her in response. He had clearly missed something, why was she suddenly so affectionate, so much for space.

"Oh it's fine, I saw Caroline and she said she had feelings for you, then I thought that maybe she came here and kidnapped you or something stupid, I mean it's unlikely but I was worried and I didn't really know what to do, so I raced up here and" Nick tried to concentrate hard of her babbling and all he managed to get was

"Wait..Caroline still has feelings for me?" he moved away from her...big mistake. As his towel fell to his ankles and _everything_ was on show. Jess stared at his face and made her way down, open mouth, she clasped her face, then her eyes, as Nick began to compose himself

"erm..." she stuttered, losing her complete trail of thought. After a few seconds, she managed to regain herself "Oh yeah, Caroline. Well she didn't actually say that, but when I asked her she seemed a little flustered"

"you asked her?"

"Don't make it seem like I'm possessive or anything but she was going on about shopping and I thought it was weird because she doesn't live round here –"

"Jess, she lives like five minutes away'

"- besides the point, and then she was rambling on about hoping to see you and then I asked her" she smiled "perfectly logically response"

Nick frowned trying to make sense out of anything Jess said. It was awesome how she babbled on, but it times like this it was hard to figure out what she was actually going on about. Caroline likes him. For some reason, that didn't have the same affect on him, like he thought it would. For once in his life, he didn't care, so what she liked him. He now liked Jess. She can finally feel how he felt for all those months, pining for her

"Are you made at me?"

"Mad at you? No, never."

"But I and you and –"he put his finger to her lips, to quieten her then moved his finger and replaced them with his lips. It was funny shutting her up, not many people can and he had been trying ever since he met her. But now he had the perfect way.

Buzz

Buzz

Jess reached down to her pocket, to pick up her phone ... _Cece_... trust her to ruin my moment, she smiled as she pressed 'read'

_"Hey Jess, We're coming back early, hope you two have been good while we're been gone ;) See you Saturday, love you xxx"_

Her eyes widened. What? They didn't know about her and Nick, what would they say? She knew full well, that Cece would have expected it but Winston and Schmidt. Their reactions worried her a little bit.

"What did it say?"

"They're coming back early..."

"Oh that's great"

"No Nick it's not great"

"Am I missing something here"

"They don't know about you know...us"

"Ooohh" he paused for a second, looking down at her "is that a problem?"  
Sometimes she could hit him, he just doesn't understand anything. Well, anything that is like this. She could see his confused little face, and she just wanted to squeeze his little chubby cheeks

"Yes well sort of, they may react majorly against it"

"...or they may support it. Don't judge them Jess" his smiled made her relax, he was right of course he was, they were their friends and surely they would support them whatever happens. It wasn't that big of a deal, whatever is thrown at them, they'll get through it. She had faith that they would. As long as she could keep that faith for one more day, Saturday will turn out fine.

Fingers Crossed.

_© Ms Zola, May 2012_


	7. Lights, Camera, Action

**Chapter 7**

**[Saturday]**

"So do you know the plan?" questioned Jess sternly as she began tidying around the apartment. If this was going to work, they needed to do it right. She had it all worked out, the plan was to stage a fight as soon as her friends walked through the door and when they saw that Nick and herself weren't on good terms they would never expect they were dating. It was perfect. Everything would go smoothly and no one would be any wiser of what really was going on

"Yes you've been through it so many times Jess, I think I could do it sleeping" smiled Nick, this was bizarre, absolutely bizarre, what on earth was she thinking? Staging a fight...like that was going to work. He already had doubts and they hadn't even attempted to make it work. He knew their friends, they knew them; they wouldn't believe such bad acting.

Nick sat relaxed at the kitchen counter top, reading the daily newspaper. Normally, he would scan pass all the _important stuff_ and go straight to the comics but today he had his serious face on, it was time he looked for a better paid job. Being a bartender was fun, but sometimes Nick needed something more in his life than just serving drinks...something more exciting. As well as that, he needed something to take his mind off ... whatever this was

"Nick I just got a text off Cece...they're coming" he chuckled at her panic expressions, why was she making a big deal out of this...they would be fine with it

"Nick...Move!" She was practically there, forcing him off his chair. He walked over to the bedroom preparing himself for his as Jess would put it, _big entrance._

She stared unblinkingly at the door, as she heard the rustling of keys and finally the turning of the door knob. Her heart was pounding, she needed to get ready, it was show time

"Hey, We're back!" yelled Schmidt as the door flung wide open. He looked around to see an empty room...an extremely tidy room. He hadn't been there and the place still looked tidy, he was impressed. He had taught them well.

"Nick? Jess?" the three friends began making themselves at home, dragging sleeping bags into the living room and collapsing one by one on the sofa.

The last five days were pretty awful, they spent most the time in a leaking tent and ended up having to huddle together to keep each other warm. It wasn't a moment to remember, Schmidt shuddered at the thought.

"Nick...I've told you to...how dare you..." he could hear muffles sounds gaining increasingly louder from the distance, before long he saw an agitated Jess walk out her room

"How many times have I told you, to stop stealing my shampoo Nick" Cece stared at her friend standing there with the purple herbal essence bottle in her hand, waving it at Nick...this wasn't usual behaviour, normally Jess was very fond of _sharing is caring _but today, not so much. Something was off about this picture, but she couldn't figure out what

"It makes my hair feel slinky smooth, why can't you share with me Jess?" he could almost feel the heat radiating from her eyes; he knew he wasn't keeping to the script, but if he was being honest, the _plan _wasn't going to work anyways so why not play it up and make it more interesting.

"I can share... just not with you...there! What have you got to say to that smarty pants?" there was silence, this actually was ridiculous, the worried looks on their friends faces just made him want to laugh...and so he did

"Nick! I'm being serious!" she was giving him the wide eyed what-do-you-think-your-doing look. Laughing was not part of the plan. He was NOT sticking to the plan, she had a gut instinct that he would bail, she knew it

"Okay guys" he chucked between words "I'm gonna come clean...this isn't real, this whole thing is a lie"

"So you and Jess aren't fighting?" questioned Winston, throughout the whole thing, he sat their open mouthed, fascinated with the whole thing. It had always amused him to see Jess and Nick fight, they normally acted so immature.

"Nope, it's all fake. Just one big constructed act!" laughed Nick finally, Jess's face was showing a forced smile, this was definitely not part of the plan, she thought to herself. They were going to hate her, she could see it now, she would be there sitting alone in the apartment while they all laughed and giggled, she would be an outcast. An outcast, in her own home!

Trust Nick to make her an outcast, mumbled thoughts brushed into her mind, as Jess stood there quietly trying to listen to what was being said

"It was very believable, so congrats on your acting skills, but why act in the first place? " said Schmidt as he began walking nearer to where they stood. He felt the distance between them was clouding his judgement on what was real and what was not. Or he just felt like moving forward

"Because my dear man, Jess and I are dating" the silence that followed after made Jess cringe. She knew it, she knew they wouldn't approve, but no one listened to her. She wanted to laugh in Nick's face and shout I-told-you-so but the time wasn't appropriate so she held her tongue

There was a gasp, and Jess clenched her eyes shut this wasn't going to be pretty

"Finally" the three said in union, as smiles spread across their faces

"See I told you...what?" frowned Jess as her eyes were now focuses on theirs. Cece were grinning from cheek to cheek and deep down Jess didn't like it...what has she been saying to them.

"We all knew this would happen, we set you up. Planned this whole camping trip, just so you two can get some _alone time" _Jess swore Schmidt winked at her but carried on listening "and looks like it was a job well done guys" he smiled, high fiving Cece, then Winston. They all looked pretty proud of themselves, and Jess felt a bit stupid now, she felt tricked and cheated of her rights...or something a long those lines

"So wait, you all knew that I liked Nick? Like _all _of you?"

"Yeah about that, I may have said let's say accidentally said a few things" smiled Cece, who finally decided to speak up as her eyes decided to look down. It was her idea, she created the whole plan, it was just a matter of getting the guys in on it and she had to admit, she was pretty proud of herself.

Her best friend now has someone to love. Although, she thought, looking at Jess's face, I may not live to see how it all ends

After talking it all over, everyone had finally come to terms with the _plan;_ both of them and were able to laugh it all over. Jess was happy that Cece did what she did, if she didn't she wouldn't have been able to truly be with Nick and that was all she wanted. She now sat cuddled to his chest with his arm wrapped tightly around her back. She missed everyone; she missed Schmidt and his OCD cleaning, Winston and his calmness and Cece just being there.

It was nice, how they all sat there together watching a clip from dirty dancing. Jess enjoyed the moment and was ready to finally embrace the future of Nick and Jess.

The End.

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed my fanfic, please review and tell me what you thought it of it all, I love hearing what you've got to say. Alas, this is the end of 'I dare you' but don't worry, as one door closes another opens, and I'm sure there will be another story on the way, so keep your eyes peeled and your emails open ;) Thanks again! **

_© Ms Zola, May 2012_


End file.
